The Mutiny Hotel

Elegant 4-Star Hotel Less Than a Block from Biscayne Bay

Throughout the 1970s and early '80s, The Mutiny Hotel, along with its famous Mutiny Club, was a major player in Miami’s party and disco scene, attracting international jet setters, celebrities, music moguls, and athletes. Even the hit TV show Miami Vice showed its characters partying at the club. Though The Mutiny closed its doors in 1985, it reopened in 1999 after renovating its suites to exhibit a more intimate, laid-back atmosphere. The hotel is all suites and boasts a boutique style. Today, the hotel’s distinctive 12-story luxury tower rises above a yacht-filled part of Biscayne Bay known as Sailboat Bay.

Frommer’s writes, “service and style are bountiful at the Mutiny.” That trademark style is on display in each 750-square-foot one-bedroom suite, where you can stretch out in a separate living area, cook dinner in a full kitchen, and watch the news on a flat-panel TV. The elegant hotel was designed with an understated, tropical British-colonial motif. Some suites complete that theme with private balconies overlooking Biscayne Bay.

Executive chef Atchana Capellini crafts contemporary Asian-fusion fare at the onsite Atchana’s East/West Kitchen, where guests can dine indoors or sit outside near the poolside waterfall. To relax, take a dip in the heated pool, which is lined with lush tropical plants and all-white loungers.

Located just a few miles south of Miami, Coconut Grove is a small seaside town along Biscayne Bay. Here, you can stroll past the sidewalk cafés, art galleries, and tropical gardens that characterize the elegant town. In the neighboring city of Coral Gables, a trolley runs down Ponce de León Boulevard. The trolley is a testament to the throwback feel of Coral Gables, which has numerous boulevards lined with Mediterranean Revival mansions.

Throughout Coral Gables, signs demarcating local and national landmarks pop into view as frequently as brown anole lizards dart across the sidewalk. Walk through avenues such as Coral Way and you'll find fluted columns and terra-cotta tiles on Venetian-inspired villas, including the Merrick House, the former manor of Coral Gables founder George Edgar Merrick. To the south, the Miracle Mile features popular restaurants and independent boutiques.

You can experience an alternate history of the area in the nearby Miami neighborhood of Little Havana. Calle Ocho, or Eighth Street, brims with Spanish-language cafés and restaurants that serve everything from coconut-laden Nicaraguan cuisine to Cuban sandwiches pressed as flat as an elephant's flip-flops. Nestled at the center of Calle Ocho is Domino Park, where domino masters play from dawn until dusk. The area buzzes with live music, gallery openings, and free walking tours led by historian Dr. Paul George during Viernes Culturales—Cultural Fridays—held the last week of every month.